Gene Frenette: UCF shows the Gators it might be ready to be on par with Big Three

Florida can rationalize Thursday night’s 29-17 loss to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl by telling itself it had an interim head coach (Greg Knox) who knows his staff was likely job-hunting as much as game-planning, as well as a potential future star quarterback (Anthony Richardson) that couldn’t play after undergoing knee surgery.

Well, none of those excuses matter. Neither does UF being a program in transition since the firing of Dan Mullen.

The truth is the Gators have long regarded themselves as the big brother who never had to worry about in-state little brother punching them in the mouth, but that changed in front of 63,689 spectators at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

UCF (9-4) was not just the better team, but significantly better. Both the Knights and Gators (6-7) had to rely on their running game because quarterbacks Mikey Keene, except on a 54-yard touchdown pass to game MVP Ryan O’Keefe, and UF’s Emory Jones struggled to complete meaningful throws.

The Knights seized control of the game with 17 third-quarter points, taking the lead for good on a 21-yard Daniel Obarski field goal. When a short Gators’ punt on the ensuing possession gave UCF the ball at its own 46, Keene’s deep-ball connection to O’Keefe with 1:08 left in the third quarter gave the Knights a 26-17 margin that was never threatened. When he reached the end zone, O'Keefe paid homage to late teammate Otis Anderson by flashing his trademark peace sign.

By no means was this the biggest win in UCF history, a distinction still held by the 34-27 Peach Bowl conquest of Auburn to finish off a 13-0 season in 2017. But it sent a message to the traditional Big Three (UF, Miami and Florida State) that the Knights are a legitimate threat, a program that may be on par or even surpass them sooner than they think.

UCF’s program had its most significant breakthrough during the summer when the Big 12 Conference, after losing Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, invited the Knights along with Houston, BYU and Cincinnati into their Power 5 league.

Though Gus Malzahn’s program suffered a huge blow when it lost starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel to a broken collarbone three months ago at Louisville, the Knights managed to salvage a respectable season and gained further momentum with its first win in history over Florida.

While the Gators are a program in transition after naming former Louisiana head coach Billy Napier as Mullen’s replacement, UCF still won despite being a touchdown underdog. Besides, the Knights also have an attrition-ravaged roster, having lost 27 players for assorted reasons since the start of fall camp.

UCF prevailed because it won the line of scrimmage, with bruising back Isaiah Bowser pounding UF’s defensive front for 155 yards on 35 carries. O’Keefe also rushed for 110 yards on just four attempts, including a 74-yard run down the left sideline.

“We’re in the right direction,” Malzahn told ESPN in a postgame interview. “It was a great game for us.”

But the bigger question is whether this signature win will eventually propel the Knights into national contender status once they start Big 12 play in two or three years?

“This is just the beginning,” said Malzahn. “We’ve got big dreams, big goals. We can win the whole thing [national title] here.”

That was a preposterous thought until UCF made its biggest splash in 2017, finishing No. 6 in the AP poll and declaring itself the national champion, much to the chagrin of the rest of college football.

Meaningless bowl game or not, the Knights showed Florida they might have the state’s best program and can no longer be dismissed as an afterthought. They handed Florida its first loss to an in-state team not named FSU or Miami since 1938, back when Stetson knocked off Josh Cody’s team 16-14 in the season opener at Florida Field.

Who knows where each program will be in 2024 when UCF and Florida play the first of a three-game series in Gainesville. The Knights will officially be in the Big 12 by then, hoping that its progress under Malzahn translates into being a national contender.

The Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes have far more tradition, combining for eight national championships between them. But look out down the road for UCF. Little brother might be catching up.

gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UCF shows the Gators it might be ready to be on par with state's Big Three